"What was it really like to be a pioneer aviator? The Frank Coffyn Collection of the Empire State
Aerosciences Museum tells the real life story of the people who helped introduce the airplane to America. Once an abandoned
scrapbook, the collection is now available to the public for the first time. Learn about the project, explore the collection, and see Coffyn's
flying machine come back to life."
You will want to visit each of the following sections.About the Project
You will want to visit each of the categories; The Project, Who was Frank T. Coffyn and the Wright Exhibition Team.The Collection: Introduction
The Frank Coffyn Collection is part of the Research Library collection at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville, New York.
It is actually the contents of a scrapbook kept by Coffyn of his early days as an aviator. When it was discovered, most of the images had
come away from their original paste mounts and were in no recognizable order. With the images now identified, the collection has been
sorted into the main categories below. As study of the collection continues, further identifications will be added and published in this
system. We welcome information from the public that may help in this effort.
This section is divided into several categories: Highlights, Stories, Aircraft, People, Locations,
Photographers, Images types and "View all Images."Coffyn's Flying Machine
The Wright Model B aircraft was designed, built, and flown during Frank Coffyn's time with the Wright Company. It was the first airplane
to go into mass production, and was the most successful of the Wright company's machines. The Wright Experience has been building
authentic static reproductions of the Model B since 1994, and in 2003, completed a flyable version. This airplane used the same engine
Frank Coffyn used on a Model B in 1912. Join the Wright Experience as they rediscover this airplane, and meet the challenge of learning
to fly Coffyn's flying machine.
This section is divided into four categories: Rediscovering, Building, Testing and Flying.
If you want to go directly to the La Chapelle page, where you will find a brief biography and seven great photos, click on:

This page on Jack Carpenter's Glenn H. Curtiss website offers a very nice picture ot the Wright
Exhibition Team which includes Duval LaChapelle, Arthur Welsh, Orville Wright, James Davis,
Ralph Johnstone and Frank Coffyn. You may go directly to the page by
clicking on the title above. You may want to use the "FIND" button on "Chapelle" find the location on the page, although you will
probably want to simply scroll down and enjoy each entry.
From that page, if time permits, you should go to the homepage and sample some of the many other
features on this priceless resource.

The date of his death is not available.

Editor's Note:
If you have any information on this pioneer aviator
please contact me.
E-mail to Ralph Cooper